A Lock'd Valentine
by Kurmoi
Summary: Love can overpower everything, even a person's sense of right and wrong. With an unexpected visit to Kalm, Tifa is thrown into a web of turmoil and passion as she struggles to unlock the heart of a monster.
1. A monochromatic surprise

It had started off the same as any other night, really. Me serving drinks to a group of inebriated misfits had become my 'trade-thing' as of late. Although it had to be said that the little bar was doing well. People came from far and wide, dropping into Kalm (which was a rather long drop) simply because of the extraordinary cocktails that we served. To me making them, they didn't taste that spectacular, but I suppose years of serving alcohol had begun to take their toll. It was odd that I was here, serving up drinks which I normally wouldn't ever think of drinking myself, but if these people wanted to drink themselves silly, then that was their problem. The new bar had fast become one of the most popular throughout the lands.

So, naturally, but probably rather foolishly, I hadn't expected anything out of the ordinary to occur. The usual serving up drinks, the usual males offering drunken comments to 'dish them up drinks in a more private place' and the like. Normally, this would never have happened, if Cloud was here. However, Cloud wasn't here. He had left several days ago to hunt down the monsters around the area. Recently, there had been problems with wild monsters hunting down the chocobos at the ranch not too far away. And what better person to dispose of them then one of the former AVALANCHE members, one of those credited with saving the world? Granted, the enemies around here weren't overly strong, but nobody seemed to realise that. And, good Shiva, it was a nice income as well.

As I finish serving the last drink on my tray to the man sitting (or should I say balancing precariously) on his chair, the door suddenly bangs open, hitting the wall with the sheer force used to open it. A tall man steps into the bar, sitting down on the furthest bar stool away from the rest of the customers, and promptly orders some strong whiskey. Slightly surprised, I serve him the drink anyway. Perhaps he was already drunk? I hardly knew of any people that could drink a full serving of whiskey as strong as I had served him. He nodded in thanks, before downing the entire glass without so much as a cough or gasp. Briefly wondering who he was, I hesitated. When he looked up, however, I was the one to gasp. The telltale eerie scarlet glow was a dead giveaway. 

"Vincent? What are you doing here?" I asked, too shocked to conceal my surprise. He looked at me, almost as if he was pondering a response, before shrugging nonchalantly. Then I noticed why I didn't recognise him immediately, with the absence of the crimson cloak that was usually there, it made him look a lot different. Currently he was dressed in black pants and top, with a long black leather coat, unruly hair tied up in a ponytail, but held back with an equally black bandanna. It was an understatement to say that he looked monochromatic. Only the crimson glow of his eyes and the shining gold of his prosthetic claw which caught the light occasionally were any change to the neutral appearance.

"Another, please?" he asks in his ever neutral voice. It would surprise me greatly if he was ever anything but neutral. Even still, it is my job as the bar hostess to serve him drinks, no matter who he is. He passes me money for the two drinks as I serve him more whiskey, which he drinks gratefully. I am about to ask him a question but am interrupted by a sudden noise of yelling between two of the customers. One of my usual customers has tried to order an occasional customer out of his seat, with the latter rather reluctant to the idea. Leaving Vincent to his own devices, I sigh before going over there to break up the potential fight.

"Please, gentlemen. If you continue acting with this behaviour then I am afraid that I will have to ask you to leave," I smile my best professional bar-hostess smile, although in no mood to smile. Dazzling as a light bulb it is, but lacks any meaning whatsoever. Perfect for business. The occasional customer turns to me, anger visible in those bloodshot irises of his, before pulling out a flick-knife. Truth be told, nothing has ever managed to get that ugly in this bar or my previous one in Midgar, so it comes totally by surprise. Of course, I didn't bring my gloves for a harmless night of bartending. Who would have thought that it would come to something like this?

Finally! A new Final Fantasy 7 story! Have you guessed the couple yet? *Winks* (Yeah, I know it's obvious…) Anyway, I'm experimenting with couples right now and this story idea just came to me… hope it's original (or as original as it can be with so many FFVII stories) and you enjoy it! Reviews are always welcome! :)


	2. A few too many

Wow, I have to thank you for the lovely reviews! I'm glad people liked the story… and Vincent's outfit too. ^^ I'm enjoying writing this story, and I hope you guys enjoy reading as much as I have writing. Thanks again! 

"Then tell that %@$#er to get his own chair, for he sure ain't getting mine," the occasional customer hisses, brandishing the knife at me. I take a step back, but before I can do anything else a shadow has whisked past me. I blink, and the occasional customer is dangling from someone's grasp by his throat. It is a familiar grasp, although I cannot say that I have been victim to it personally, thank Odin. A familiar, golden clawed grasp. Vincent doesn't look entirely sober himself, but he is holding the now wheezing and spluttering man firmly.

"Leave her alone. Do not lay a finger on her. At least she has the courtesy to serve you when the time comes. She must have more patience and civility then most others," he says softly. But there is no trace, no ounce of gentleness in his tone. It is the voice of one who means business, but in a dangerous sort of way. Silent but deadly was rather fitting in this case.

Every inch of tension throughout my body disappears and I relax, the crisis neatly avoided. The man can do little but grunt and struggle in Vincent's grasp. Even before I can open my mouth to tell Vincent to let the man go he has, almost as if he heard my thought. The man falls to the floor, clutching at his throat. Other then a slightly red area on his neck, there is no visible damage. After a few moments, he curses loudly before storming out of the bar. There goes one of my customers, but one I don't mind losing, if truth be told.

I see my regular customer shoot Vincent a look, a look solely reserved for 'drinking buddies', I suppose you would call them. Obviously Vincent has won his respect. Vincent nods once in acknowledgement before seating himself back at his seat on the other side of the room. Within a few moments, talk resumes and everything goes back to normal. After supplying drinks to a few more people, I go over to Vincent, sitting beside him. He seems to have gone into a trance, staring at something which I cannot see. I touch him lightly on the arm and he starts, looking at me, an almost flustered look in his crimson eyes. 

"Thanks for helping me earlier," I whisper out of the earshot of the rest of the customers. He nods in response. Really, he is impossible. Looking into his eyes, I can tell that the alcohol is starting to get to him. Even Vincent Valentine, Turk extraordinaire, experiment to the scientist Hojo, cold, dark and handsome Vincent still gets affected by alcohol. It's a good thing to know. 

Perhaps he is just oblivious to that fact as he orders another whiskey, pushing some coins into my palm. I shrug, preparing the whiskey and slide it across the bench to him, before sitting opposite him. "How have things been since we saw you last? What have you been doing with yourself?"

After a few minutes, I resign to the fact that he isn't going to answer me, so it surprises me when he clears his throat and speaks, in a voice that sounds more guttural and less Vincent-like.

"I have been endeavouring in the task to restore the Nibelheim mansion to a somewhat more inhabitable place," He pauses in his statement to take a delicate sip from his whiskey glass. "That and travelling around. Nothing productive. What about you and Cloud?"

The statement seems rather long for him, and so I let him get away with the question without complaint. After all, it was probably a rather strenuous task for him to say as much as he did previously, so I respond to his question rather extensively. "Well, Cloud and myself… we haven't married or anything yet. I suppose we're still considering the situations and circumstances surrounding Meteor and Sephiroth, and personally I don't think neither Cloud nor I are ready for that commitment yet. But we moved here and set up a bar, as you can see. He's taken to being the local monster hunter around the area, especially with what's been happening recently. Have you heard about it?" A pause, before a small shake of the head. "Basically there's been a creature, or maybe more then one, that have taken to attacking the chocobos down near the farm, both wild and tame. A few days ago there were two found dead in the stables, and one wild one not too far away. So he's been hunting down and killing all the monsters around the area, basically, so hopefully we can stop it before people get hurt,"

He nods, and suddenly I realise that he is beginning to get that almost glazed look that most people get when they have had too much alcohol. It has only been a few glasses, but then again, it was of the strongest whiskey that is actually in the bar, so perhaps that was what was doing it. "Perhaps you should slow down on the alcohol intake, Vincent," I suggest tactlessly. He doesn't seem to pick up on my sarcasm, merely shrugging his shoulders in a motion which could mean anything or nothing at all, before drinking the rest of the whiskey and in one swift motion, standing up. Unfortunately, the alcohol in his system doesn't agree to that, and he immediately grips the bench for support. 

"Vincent?" He looks up sharply at my voice, before he makes a slight face, and I realise that the sharp movement would probably have done nothing for his head. "There's a spare room at my- _our house. Would you like to stay there for the night? You look in no condition to get to the inn from here,"_

"It isn't that far," he says simply. Even with those few words I can hear the slight waver in his voice which was never there before. I shake my head. "It's fine, no burden whatsoever. In fact, I would be honoured if you would stay," 

A bit far-fetched, but he doesn't protest. Simply shrugging that useless shrug before slumping onto the stool again, eyes shut. Glancing at the clock, I realise that we should probably close up anyway. There was no way I was planning to keep the bar open all night, and midnight seemed like a reasonable closing hour. At my polite request, everyone slowly clears out, leaving just Vincent and I in the room. "Come on," I urge, touching his arm again. This time, he visibly flinches, looking at me with an expression that I am unable to read. I drop my hand, but continue speaking. "Let's get out of here. There is no way that I am going to haul your unconscious body back to my house, so you had better walk with me now,"

Getting unsteadily off the stool, he stands, and slowly walks to the door where I am standing. Opening the door, I hold it open for him and gesture for him to follow me, which he does, but in a rather awkward movement as opposed to the almost gliding he usually did in AVALANCHE. The alcohol must really be getting to him. When we reach the house, with the single light on the doorstep, I unlock the door and let him in. He looks around, before his crimson eyes, still visibly glowing in the near-darkness, suddenly flicker shut, judging by the red glow disappearing. I turn on the lights to the living room, and show him to where he will be sleeping, indicating the location of the bathroom and various other necessities on the way. "Feel free to make yourself comfortable," 

A pause, then a short nod as he walks to his room, but not before his voice drifts softly around the corner. "Thank-you, Tifa," 


	3. Fever

Heat. Burning, relentless heat. Pounding at his temples, everywhere. Throwing off the bed sheets desperately, hoping for some temporary end to the heat, but there was nothing. He touched his forehead, which was beaded with perspiration, and then dropped his head into his hands, both metal and flesh, before jerking away abruptly. Even the metal claw was warm, uncomfortably warm. 

Why had he accepted to come back to her house? It wasn't as though he deserved to be taken in by her. He wasn't a stray dog on the streets, eyeing passers-by, seeking refuge and rescue. Yet he had been foolish enough to accept her offer. Foolish or not, it had been a generous offer, one kind act of many which Tifa had bestowed on her fellow AVALANCHE members. She had a good heart. That couldn't be debated. It wasn't as though he deserved her acts of generosity himself, though.

So hot. He couldn't get away from it… what on earth was wrong? Ever since Hojo's experiments so many years ago, sickness had become a thing of the past, something which he was grateful for. But he was so hot… his head was spinning, what could it be? Closing crimson eyes with a soft sigh, he rolled onto his side, trying to will himself back to sleep.

*~*

Defeating Sephiroth hadn't been easy, but anything was easier then summoning up the courage to knock on Vincent's door. I raise my hand, pause, think about it, drop my hand, think about it some more, raise my hand, and then the cycle continues. He's been asleep for a long time. Yes, he probably has a hangover to the first degree after all that whiskey, but even still, he should be up by now, and it was past three in the afternoon, after all. Not that I was trying to get him out of the house or anything, it was just…

_Just I was trying to get him out of the house. _My mind surmises. Sighing and distantly wondering how my own mind can outsmart me so badly, I bite my lip and knock on the door, two sharp knocks which would alert anybody to someone's presence. There is silence. Mentally crossing my fingers, I twist the doorhandle and open the door slowly, peering inside. The sight that meets me is rather surprising.

Vincent is fast asleep, from the looks of things. From memory, in AVALANCHE, he hardly ever slept, but here he was, hair tousled from movement, right arm thrown carelessly over his stomach, modestly clothed in old sleeping clothes of Cloud's. Granted, he was a bit taller then Cloud, but still managed to fit the clothes perfectly. His left arm was stretched out away from him, as if even in sleep he couldn't bear having the metal contraption any closer then he had to. Looking closer, I frowned slightly. Now that I did look closer, his breathing was rather erratic and perspiration beaded on his forehead. I gently move closer and touch his forehead, before jerking my hand away, surprised at my own motion. He is hot. Unnaturally hot. Nobody is supposed to be that warm to the touch.

He shifts with the contact of my hand, and pulls away. At first I think he is going to wake up, but he merely turns over slightly, murmuring something. I have to strain my ears to hear what it is. "Lucrecia…"

Lucrecia? Still? Of course, he still hadn't managed to forget and forgive about her with thirty years dormancy, so what hope was there with a mere one year since we had seen him last? Suddenly, his crimson eyes fly open wildly as he sits up and looks around. I start back away from him, and it is only then that he notices me. His eyes widen with… fear? With anyone else it would have been, but with Vincent… I still don't know. When I look back at him, however, he has his usual nonchalant, almost bored expression on his face. Wait a minute. What makes me think that I know what is usual with Vincent? Again, with anyone else that I have known as long as him, but…

"You have a fever," I state simply. Anybody could understand it, surely. "I don't know how long you were planning on staying in Kalm, but you're not fit to travel in this state," I am pleased to notice that my tone is firm, rather then expressing the underlying fear that I am feeling being around him. It isn't him, exactly, but he is- was so… unpredictable. You never knew what his reaction would be. I think that was what scared me. Me being me, I was expecting hostility at my statement. What I got was exactly the opposite. Acquiescence.

"I know," He shifts slightly in the bed, almost as though he is expecting me to argue with him. "I- I shouldn't have come here in the first place. I apologise for being a burden,"

"Don't be ridiculous!" My surprise at his words is conveyed in my tone. "You're a friend. How could you be considered a burden?"

He turns to look at me with those bloody eyes. "An acquaintance, maybe,"

For the first time, I really look at him then. Aeris had always liked Vincent, I had never really understood why. One time she told me she had looked at him and had liked what she had seen. Of course, I had no idea what she meant. But now, I think that I was beginning to understand as I looked at Vincent for the first time as a person. 

Good Shiva, he really was handsome. Excluding the fact that he would probably be about twice my age. But I was female. It had been the first time I had looked at him as a man, a human, as opposed to him with biased pity because of what he was, what he had had to deal with throughout his lifetime. 

He was probably right. Due to my nervousness, albeit concealed by an open attitude and personality and his reservedness, we probably never would be more then mere acquaintances. It was odd; really, that I could trust him with my life better then my emotions, my secrets. For some reason, that scared me to some extent. 

Even including those factors, though, I still… I couldn't explain it in simpler terms then I cared for him. But it wasn't that simple. I was reined by feelings of confusion whenever I was around him, ever since I had met him it had always been that way. Never would I have minded getting closer to him, but he would never have cared for me closer then ten feet away. I reach out a hand to touch his brow, and am inwardly surprised that he doesn't remove it, forcefully or otherwise, immediately, that is. He lets it rest there for a few seconds before reaching up his flesh hand and gently brushing it off.

"Do you want anything?" It seems odd also, that one can feel so out of place at her own house. He shakes his head.

"I will get up soon. I must thank you for your hospitality," 

Nodding, my feet automatically carry me out of the room. As soon as I step outside, the tense atmosphere disappears and I can breathe freely, easily again. 

_It must just be his room._

I forgot to mention. There's been so many good V/T stories written recently that I don't know why I'm writing this, cos it ain't a bundle compared to some of the other stories, but hey… I'm having fun. That's why I write, I guess! To all those V/T writers out there, keep up the magnificent work! And one last thing, I don't know how it's happened, but anyone that isn't Tifa has ended up being written in past tense, while Tifa is present. Don't know how, but it sounds alright, so I'm leaving it. I might edit later, but for now it is fine. Just so you know. :)


	4. A monster's tears

He sighed as she left the room. He had managed to dig himself into a rather large hole, so to speak. He shouldn't even be here, in Kalm. The reason he was not in Nibelheim was to stop the people in the township from being placed in danger with his mere existence. After all, the people there didn't need more death and destruction brought to them, not after the supposed burning down of the small village… to this day he still wasn't sure whether or not it had happened, even after seeing visions of it. It couldn't possibly, could it?

Monsters, even ones such as he, had to learn to control their feelings and emotions. Lately, however, it was nigh-on impossible. Chaos had lived up to its name not long ago, going around and hunting down prey. _And all I could do was watch out of his eyes, as though it were a mere slideshow, a horrific dream. It couldn't be me doing it. Couldn't possibly._

He tried to block the doubt that he was feeling out. His control was waning, disappearing into thin air, and that scared him. A lot. He wasn't the easiest person to be scared, but the fact that the demons were getting ever closer to their ultimate destination frightened him more then he could ever say to anybody. How had he ended up in Kalm? Drowning his sorrows in liquor? He was going the way of those current infidel Turks, drinking because of sorrow, drinking because of happiness, drinking for something to drink to. Now that was a distasteful thought.

Another sin to add to the ever-growing list, although less important in the scheme of them. Lying to Tifa, even after she had kindly offered him temporary residence at her home. He hadn't been at Nibelheim since they had last seen each other, not continuously, anyway. He couldn't exactly tell her what he had been doing, however. Vincent was a gentleman, a man of honour, as much as he could be, having done some rather dishonourable things in his time, but responding to a lady's question of 'what have you been doing since we saw you last?' with 'not a lot, going mourning after Lucrecia a bit, moping and trying to summon up the courage to end this horrible existence of mine' was not honourable, even to him.

Yes, he did feel grateful at the undeserved kindness that Tifa was showing him. She really was a beautiful person with a kind nature. If he was not one that was allowed no happiness, then he might have allowed himself to get closer to her. Occasionally he felt guilty at his stoic nature, blocking out those few who were concerned about him. But then again, it was for their benefit more. Tifa had tried to get closer to him before. 

How had he ended up here, of all places? Couldn't it have been somewhere uninhabited, rather then one of the fastest growing towns in the area? And still, the fever or whatever it was - he didn't know for the life or death of him- was making its presence known. Before had been an agonizing fire, now had dropped to a mere uncomfortable heat. But of course, monsters didn't deserve comfort, so he tried to not let it bother him. Easier said then done, of course.

His control of Chaos and the other residing demons hadn't been the only control to slip. His own legendary control, his shield, his shell was breaking, disintegrating into nothing with each transformation he made. At the time, he had refused to believe that those really were tears falling from his eyes. Monsters didn't cry.

There was only one thing to do. Force the shields up; reinforce them with whatever he could. Because if he didn't, then… gods, he didn't even know what would happen. He would probably die. That was it. Completely shrivel up into nothing. Because that was what he felt like. A shell; that was it. When the outsides were taken away, destroyed, there was nothing inside. That was what he felt like. He wouldn't let it happen, no matter the costs. It was better for everybody, after all. 

He would have to leave as soon as possible. He wanted to leave immediately, but realistically he knew that it wouldn't be possible, not for him to travel safely without any threats from the demons. 

_I was becoming less human… but now I am beginning to doubt whether I ever was._

Hmm, these chapters seem to be a bit short for my liking… but it gets worse… (sorry!) I don't know why, but shorter chapters seem to work better for this story… anyway, tell me what you think and keep smiling! :)


	5. Tall, dark and handsome

He was only getting worse. I had left him sleep the rest of the day, and the day after that. It was his third day here now, and he still hadn't woken up. Every so often I went in to check up on him, he was still unnaturally hot. Pouring a glass of water, I knocked softly on his door before entering. Sure enough, he was still asleep. Unlike the last few days where he had been sprawled out across the bed, he had managed to curl up in the blankets, still asleep. Smiling slightly, I left the water on the bedside table before leaving the room. It would be time to open the bar soon. I should probably go and get it started up.

Once entering the bar, I was surprised to notice that it was unusually tidy. What with the last few days looking after Vincent, I hadn't been paying attention to the little things everywhere else. So much for having to clean up. Pouring myself an orange juice, I sip it carefully, waiting for the usual afternoon rush of customers.

It didn't take long. Barely seconds after I had finished my drink, in came a small group of usual customers. A tall, burly man called Jake, his wife Laesa and friend Conner. Laesa was one of the few women who commonly accommodated the bar, and I hadn't seen her for a while. She smiles and waves at me as they entered. Jake smiles knowingly at me.

"So, I heard that there was a little brawl in here the other night. Do tell us the goss,"

Sitting down next to them, I tell them, leaving out Vincent from the story, which cut it considerably shorter. To my surprise, Laesa raises her eyebrows.

"That ain't all of it, honey. There's more. What about the tall, dark and handsome guy who saved you in your moment of peril?"

"How did you find out about him?" I blurt out before realising that I had just given myself away. Sighing, I speak. "His name's Vincent. He came down for some reason or other, and basically strangled the guy who was going to attack me. We were… acquaintances from AVALANCHE,"

"Shelly told me he was sexy," Laesa was twirling a strand of curly red hair around her finger. Shelly was another of the usual customers. Come to think of it, I do remember seeing her on that night. "She said you and him were chatting away like old friends. What happened to Cloud? How would he feel with you jumping some other guy's bones?"

The thought of Vincent and me 'chatting away like old friends' and me 'jumping on some other guy's bones' with the other guy being Vincent was enough to make me giggle. "Cloud's out on a job," I manage to stutter out before the giggles erupt into full-out laughter, releasing some of the tension that I had had for the last few days, ever since Vincent had come. "Now that's funny,"

Before they could ask anything else, more customers came through the door. "Sorry, gotta go!" I exclaim, standing up and walking over to behind the bar counter.

"How can I help you, sir?" 

Hmm, sorry this is such a short chapter… maybe I should give you two chapters to make up for this excessively short one? Maybe not. I'll just give you the next one tomorrow or something. :)

This story isn't going to be overly long (unfortunately), grand total is about 15,000 words, not a lot… so I hope the romance doesn't come up too fast. But as always, hope you enjoy and more soon! 


	6. Carefree passion

He still hadn't woken up yet. As always, I deliver him water, taking away the other glass so they don't form an army of glasses on his bedside table. And yet, as I go, I always turn back. Stare shamelessly at him. The top of Cloud's pyjamas has ridden up slightly in sleep, and a muscular chest, slim and fit is showing itself from underneath. His clothes are hanging up neatly in the wardrobe, waiting for him to wake up again. As I washed them earlier today, the entrancing smell of Vincent wafted up from them. He smelt faintly of roses, which seemed rather un-Vincent like, but even still. That smell comes back to me as I look at him. He shifts slightly, and I blink, before walking out of the room, not turning back.

How would I feel if I had realised that somebody was watching me sleep? Rather uncomfortable, that was for sure. Suddenly, I wished that Vincent could be mine. He was so beautiful. I wish that I could make him happy, and he could live the rest of his life (however long that would be) happy. Everyone deserved happiness, didn't they? He was no exception. _Vincent, I could make you happy…_

Wait, wait, wait! What was I thinking? I had Cloud. He was mine. And I was his. He loved me and I loved him. But even still… I tried to picture Cloud and I together, happy, but for some reason pictures of Vincent kept on coming through my mind, much like the scent of roses had wafted through my nostrils earlier. Ensnaring and unforgettable.

A locked valentine. That was what he was. Someone beautiful enough to touch, and easily love, but locked away from everybody. Nobody could find the key. It had probably disappeared when everything had ruined his hopes so badly, all those years before I was even born. I don't understand this. Cloud and I were obviously meant to be. We had shared moments from when we were children, and the day when he finally confessed his love to me was one of the happiest of my life. But now, Vincent has come and thrown everything into turmoil. Cloud and Vincent, such opposites. Fair short spiky hair to Vincent's unruly ebony locks, trailing down his back. Cloud, so friendly once you got to know him, while Vincent you couldn't even get to know. It couldn't be love for Vincent. If I fell in love with somebody else, wouldn't it be somebody like Cloud?

I had imageries of the two men. Cloud represented the peaceful life. And now, his life was peaceful. A pale shade of blue, warm, carefree and inviting. Vincent on the other hand was a crimson red which represented years of love lost, unadulterated passion. They were so different, yet at the same time, so similar.

Trying to break the rhythm of my confused thoughts, I go down and open the bar an hour early. But I can't concentrate on the people's happy conversations as they talk to me. My thoughts are elsewhere. That is only too apparent as I nearly drop one of the martinis that I am trying to serve up for people. Righting it quickly before it can fall, I quickly deliver it before going back behind the bar, deep in thought.  

How can you fall in love so quickly? Although I have to say that I have had a tendency to do so. When I first saw Cloud as a teenager, I began to have an instant crush on him, which soon developed into something more. But it isn't as though I fall in love with every man that walks past. But now… Vincent is like an infatuating perfume that is ensnaring my senses. It makes me feel like a teenager again, and not for a good reason.

How did I manage to get myself into this mess? Cloud was the one for me. Cloud was the one for me. Cloud loves me…

_But… Vincent…_

I'm still not happy with the 'falling-in-love' bit of this story. I know it's meant to be a shortish story, but it still seems extremely sudden to me… oh well, think of Romeo and Juliet. They both fell in love with each other after seeing each other, so I guess… (please bear with me here ^^) 


	7. Confused, loving hate

It was true. My heart had decided that it liked Vincent. Suddenly, I had found myself staring at his prone body as he lay asleep, with all the fascination of a school-girl staring at their crush. Only until I was out of the room that my cheeks heated up as I realised what I had done.

What was it about him? I have to say that in AVALANCHE, I had never really taken the time out to know him. He usually kept to himself, with the exceptions of Aeris and Cid who occasionally managed to get him speaking more then one word at a time, although it still hadn't been easy. It had been over a week now, and his fever was showing no signs of breaking. He just seemed so attractive to me, and I kept on comparing him to Cloud, which probably wasn't the fairest thing to do for either of them, but he was handsome.

Even now, my face is flushing just thinking about him. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a neon sign above my head advertising the fact of how I felt now. I suppose it could have just been a sudden attraction, but… I didn't know. Pouring him another glass of water, I tiptoed down to his room and opened the door.

To my surprise, he is awake, although not exactly alert. He blinks at me for a few seconds before suddenly realising who I am. "Tifa," he says wearily, rubbing his eyes. "You shouldn't have looked after me. I am sorry to burden you like this,"

"Don't be ridiculous, you've been sick for over a week. I wouldn't have just left you in the inn to get sick there. Anyway, I brought you some water," Putting it down on the bedside table as always, hoping that my cheeks aren't flushing. "Why don't you have a shower or something to freshen yourself up? It might wake you up a bit,"

"Thank-you," he says simply. Just seeing the intensity of those crimson eyes makes me lose it.

"Vincent, I… I've been thinking about this while you've been asleep, and I… I-think-I-love-you," I blurt out; my last words so fast that I can barely understand them myself. Hopefully he won't understand them. I mean, if I barely could, what hope does he have?

Obviously better hope then me. He frowns suddenly. My heart sinks. I should have guessed. Lucrecia, how could I have forgotten? That woman that I saw in the waterfall, of course he wouldn't love me.

Who was I to even delude on the slight chance that he would?

"I cannot love you. There is no way that I could ever be your Cloud, Tifa, don't even try. I cannot love you,"

Those words, so final. I know my expression is giving away my emotions but I don't care. After all, he doesn't. "I'm sorry, don't worry about it," I manage to blurt out, although my mouth has probably already said too much. I must just be making it worse. Was it just a crush after all? Surely, you can't fall in love with somebody that fast. Forcing my face back into neutral lines, I nod. "Shower's through that door if you want it. And don't worry about what I said before. I'm sorry,"

Just before I leave the room, I hear him mutter four words, which make me flinch. "I wasn't planning to."

He has just come out of the shower, while I have been sitting at the table, chastising myself for letting him know how I felt when it was obviously going to be a fruitless cause. He refuses to look at me. "Are you hungry?" I ask desperately, anything to try and keep the usual atmosphere.

He totally ignores me. I never realised that ignoring could hurt so much, but it does. I repeat my question and he turns to me, something obvious in his eyes, although I can't be certain as to what it is. But still he remains silent, this time just staring at me with those cold scarlet eyes of his. 

"Damn it!" I yell, causing him to blink, slightly surprised by my outburst. I have totally had it with him. "I'm just asking you a damn question! The least you could do is be civil to me! Okay, so you don't love me, fine. But that doesn't give you any right to be a stubborn jerk when I have been trying to help you for the last week or so when you've been ill! If you want to push everyone out of your life who makes an attempt to try and be nice to you, then why don't you just go and lock yourself back in that coffin that they found you in, or jump in the water with Aeris or something. Forget this; I don't care where in the name of Shiva you go. Just get out, Vincent. Get out of my house!"

I bury my head into my arms, resting on the table, so I don't know whether or not he has left until I hear footsteps and the door shut quietly. It isn't until then that I let the tears flow.

*~*

"Cloud?" My eyes light up as I see him standing in the doorway. "You're back!" He opens his arms to me and sweeps me into a hug. This is how a relationship should be. How could I ever doubt loving him?

"I don't know how long I'll be back for," He starts taking off his boots, leaving them by the front door before coming down to sit at the kitchen table. "The monster hasn't been slaughtered yet. More animals have been found dead, all around the chocobo farm. So if I go, it's because of that. I've missed you, though,"

I decide to not tell Cloud about the incident with Vincent, it would be better for him if he never knew. Ifrit, I wish I didn't know either. "I've missed you too. Are you hungry?" 

"Never ask a man that question when you know the answer," he is smiling at me. "I'm famished,"

Not sure what the date is but for us down here yesterday it was Vincent's birthday ^^ so happy birthday for yesterday… :)

As always, thank-you for reviewing and I'll update soon! Probably not every day as much anymore because I'm back at school, but once a week if not more hopefully!


	8. Chaos reigns

He came again. Still, I can't believe it. I suppose he was staying in an inn, or something. Unlike before, he was wearing the same clothes as he was in AVALANCHE. 

He ordered from me as though he had no idea who I was. Perhaps he didn't. In every way save physical, he looked dead. Another few whiskeys later, he was out for the count. There was no way I was offering him residence, not again. But to my surprise, just as I was about to kick him out of the now empty bar, he woke up and walked out.

Me being me, I am curious as to where he is going. Wouldn't anybody be? He doesn't look as though he is going to an inn.

He walks briskly, at a steady pace, his footsteps silent. Surprised that he hasn't noticed me already, I use that as positive motivation to keep on going. He walks, and I follow. Easy. We walk for a while, until I realise where we are. Near the old landmass where Midgar once was. Then, he turns towards the mountains, before dropping to one knee. At first, I have no idea what he is doing, until wings rip through his shoulder blades and I start, nearly falling out of my hiding place, a slight indent in the rocky mountains.

He's… transforming? Why? There's no reason, no threat, no pain… 

…at least physical, anyway.

The wings are fully grown now, blood or some fluid covering them like an unctuous glaze. They are flapped once, twice. Each is so powerful that you can hear it in the nearly silent area.

Chaos lets out a bellowing roar, filled with something else. From what I remember about Chaos in battle, he- no, it – always sounded fierce, ready to kill and was ready to spill blood. This roar sounds more like an intimate expressing of pain. Perhaps Vincent has more control over Chaos then I remembered?

Suddenly, Chaos flies up into the sky, but still faintly visible, even with the darkness of the night-time. It flies back the way it came, past Kalm. I sprint to follow. Where is it taking Vincent? What's happening? To my surprise, I realise that we have reached the grassland area. From where I am standing, I can see a flock of chocobos, their silhouettes outlined against the night sky. Their heads are in their wings, and they are roosting quietly.

Not for long, however.

With silent grace, Chaos flies above them. Still they remain asleep. I can't yell, because then Chaos would see me. But I can't watch this. Occasionally chocobos are annoying, yes. But I don't want to see a flock of them die. Unfortunately, it seems as though I do not have a choice.

Chaos immediately attacks, using the attack known as 'Chaos Sabre'. It hits the chocobos and startles them awake, sends one of the younger baby ones to its knees, squawking in pain. Not enough for Chaos. It uses the attack again. This time, it is more effective. All of the chocobos fall to the ground, cuts and slices causing pools of blood to form under them. All but one. The youngest, by the looks of it. It stands, swaying, before letting out a helpless cheep and slumping to the ground by its fellow counterparts.

Vincent… I never would have guessed. He was the killer all this time? I suppose the facts led to it, but I never would have suspected him. Even enigmatic, stoic, holy Ifrit, downright cold, he was still a friend. _Not_ a monster.

Without thinking, I race back to Kalm. Cloud might be there. I have to tell him. He should be; he usually returns the first night or so before camping out wherever he has to be. _Misses the home cooked meals, he jokes. Hopefully he will be back. He should be back. He __has to be back. Otherwise, I could have made a fatal mistake._

A mistake, which could ultimately result in Vincent's death at the hands of the Ultima Weapon.

Hmm… dodgy cliffhanger, hey? Anyway, enjoy, as always! :)


	9. Wretched defeat

All he could do was watch as Chaos killed them. Like a dreadful movie, except this time there was no 'stop' button. This was reality. Dreadful reality. 

How could he continue on living this wretched existence? All he did was put others, both human and otherwise, in danger. Surely there were other monsters around, but none so much as himself. He was a monster. Nothing more. And monsters deserved to die.

He felt Chaos start as somebody or something crept up from somewhere. Not being able to control Chaos' movements, he thought. What could it be? Chaos suddenly spun to face a sword which seemed rather familiar, for some reason. 

It was familiar. It was the Ultima Weapon. That meant…

Cloud…

So all he could do was watch as the weapon came down, connecting with Chaos. Chaos roared before retaliating with a swipe of his claw. Cloud easily avoided it. The pain ran through him as well, even though he wasn't physically _there. _And it hurt.

More swipes. Chaos didn't stand a chance. Why, he didn't know. Usually Chaos could have taken down any of his fellow AVALANCHE members, not that he had tried it, but he knew that it was possible. Then Chaos' voice echoed through his mind.

__

*All the more for you to suffer through, my dear Vincent…*

That would explain it. There was always a reason. Chaos fell in an ungainly heap to the ground, and Cloud, sensing that his work was done, simply left. The metallic scent of blood was making him feel sick. Chaos on the other hand was probably revelling in it. He supposed it was a matter of taste. 

__

I deserve to die. Maybe I will, this time. 

He slowly felt his strength ebbing away as he lost consciousness.

*~*

I felt the breath leaving me as my feet pounded on the soft ground, sprinting to the chocobo farm. Cloud wasn't in Kalm, even though I had looked everywhere that was still open. That meant that I had messed up badly. Which could cost Vincent his life.

Finally, as I round the corner, I freeze. My feet simply stop moving. I had been trying not to hope for the worst, but the worst was indeed in front of me. Chaos, surprisingly still Chaos, was lying motionless on the ground in a pool of blood, luckily darkened by the night. However, the night didn't stop the horribly metallic scent from wafting up to me.

I kneel beside the prone body, ignoring the smell of the blood, and examine the wounds as best as I could with the light or lack of. They were deep and could have easily killed him. Luckily, Chaos, or Vincent, I didn't know, was still breathing. Lightly, unevenly. But still.

Examining my bracelet, I plucked off a small stone imbedded into it, before muttering a single spell. "Life 2,"

Chaos wakes up magnificently, beating his wings before swiping a claw at me. I wasn't expecting it, and the claw slashes me across my arm.

"Vincent! It's me!" I cry, trying not to cry out aloud at the pain of the wound itself. Chaos ignores, and simply lunges at me. More slashes, this time across my legs. Then it grabs me, pinning me down to the ground. I can't free myself from the clawed grip, no matter how I struggle, dirt, rocks and other hard things digging into my back. But suddenly, just as I am about to get a spell materia out of my bracelet, Chaos stops, before dropping onto the ground. Vincent slowly materialises, unmoving. Casting Life 2 again, I step back before casting Cure on myself. It won't help the wounds themselves, but it will give me my strength back. Vincent slowly regains consciousness, standing up before looking around himself cautiously. If Vincent's eyesight is anything like Cloud's, then he can see everything as if it were daylight, according to Cloud himself, anyway. He suddenly drops to his knees, eyes shutting slowly.

"Not again… _Chaos_…"

Poor Vinny. Hey, I guess it happens to the best of us, hey? *Ignores weird looks being shot* I apologise profusely if this chapter screws up, but because my computer's stuffed up AGAIN (if you've read Crimson Heart you might have heard about my computer dilemmas) I don't have a decent copy of Word, so this could show up like anything, for all I know. Sorry again, and because of this I don't know when the next chapter will come. Hopefully soon!


	10. Mercy for a Monster

She wasn't there. He had searched the entire town. She was gone.

She couldn't possibly… have been attacked… by that creature, could she? 

Where could she be? Was it his fault? Should he have kept her by his side?

But she was an adult. She could look after herself. She wouldn't like him babying her.

Because of him not paying attention, though, she could be dead. Like that little girl. Her beautiful body lying on the ground, motionless, as blood seeped slowly from the wounds…

No. She couldn't be dead. Tifa was tougher then that.

But maybe the monster had attacked her before he had got to it? Left her body somewhere, where he hadn't been? Like in the swamp near the cave?

Holy Ifrit, if that had happened, then the Midgar Zolom would have made short work of her body.

No. He had to stop thinking like this. She was alive. She had to be. 

His footsteps echoed on the ground as he ran, pounding, as he sprinted to the Midgar area. She had to be there.

*~*

I take him back to our house. After muttering something about Chaos, he lost consciousness again. Luckily for me, he isn't very heavy. So, for now, he is back in the spare bedroom with me examining the wounds. They were deep, no doubt about it. I decide that it would be best for Vincent to wake up again naturally, rather then being woken up by me casting Life 2 on him. After bandaging his wounds and shamelessly staring at him for a few minutes, I leave the room. He will be okay, I know it.

Some people say that Vincent's a monster. A 'thing'. They would have told me to let him die. But I could never do that. Because, to me, I feel that it was never Vincent's fault for what happened to him in Nibelheim so many years ago. Who would have thought that such a quiet town could hold such shocking stories? Even Sephiroth at Mount Nibel… 

But even still. If Vincent had willingly jumped onto the laboratory table and exclaimed 'Turn me into a monster!' then I would be a little doubtful about helping him now. But he didn't. He's just like the rest of us, albeit with less tendency to talk and more tendency to be labelled a vampire then the rest of us. So I'm just doing what I would do to anybody else.

Sorry about the extremely short length of this chapter… once again, any page problems we can thank Microsoft word 97 for, yes, this is an OLD version of Word which is why the page sometimes stuffs up. Anyway, until next time, enjoy!


	11. Dreams, reality and inhuman monsters

He was drifting in a liquid that seemed somewhat like the Lifestream. Yet, even with that factor included, he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he was dreaming.  
_This wasn't real._

Suddenly, he was standing outside the Nibelheim mansion, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, when suddenly he noticed somebody. A pretty young woman, with shining emerald eyes and long auburn hair. He knew who that was immediately. After all, he had spent over thirty years of his life thinking about her, even if the majority of that thinking was dreams and nightmares. She turned to him, tears rolling slowly down her pale cheeks.

"Vincent… look at what you did to me. Just look. You ruined my life, and now you're going to forget about me for that other girl. You're cursed, Vincent. Everyone who falls in love with you ends up getting hurt by you,"

Tifa. She was there, too. She was sobbing, before turning to Lucrecia.

"He made Cloud detest me. Even after everything I did for him, yet he manages to throw my love away. Cloud will probably never speak to me again, thanks to him,"

For some reason, Tifa's words shook him more then Lucrecia's did. 

"Vincent," The non-feminine voice made him start, spinning around, instantly going for his gun holster only to find that there was nothing there. Hojo was standing there, smirking at him. "You deserved everything I gave you. And more. It's a shame that the technical things available today weren't then, because if they were, you'd have a lot more to complain about, Mr. Valentine,"

He didn't say anything. Dream or not, he wasn't going to give Hojo the satisfaction. 

"We all know that you feel for Tifa. Although I doubted it was possible that you actually had a heart, you've managed to prove me wrong. Congratulations, Turk. Not many people manage to do that,"

He started, staring at the megalomaniac of a professor. Hojo smiled a cruel smile which couldn't mask the look of anger in his eyes.

"You're a bastard, Vincent Valentine!" Tifa exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I wish I had never met you! All you've done is brought pain and suffering back into my life!"

Vincent involuntarily flexed his claw, wincing slightly as he heard the sound of metal on metal. Then to his horror, he heard himself, or himself about thirty odd years ago, at least. 

"Any last words?"

Lucrecia, Tifa and Hojo all turned with him to face the past Vincent, although a Vincent that two out of the three had seen before. The past Vincent was levelling a weapon at a young man's head. He remembered him, as well. One of those that double-crossed him and his fellow… colleagues. Needless to say, it was the last time that he had. The man whimpered at the Turk's feet, who merely scoffed, before lifting his foot and flicking the man with it, who fell back onto his behind. The past Vincent calmly walked up to him, standing beside him as though they were having a friendly chat.

"Do you remember what I said last time this happened?"

The young man shook his head wildly. The Turk made a look of feigned sympathy. "That's too bad. Let me refresh your memory, then, shall I?"

Everybody in the 'flashback' or whatever it could be called flinched as the gun went off, sending the young man fly backwards, a gaping bullet wound in his chest. His body hit the wall as the past Vincent made a face.

"Pathetic," he murmured as the man whimpered, even on his deathbed. 

Everyone flinched at the second gunshot as well, which hit the young man in the head.

"And you don't call yourself a monster!" Tifa exclaimed, returning to the 'present'. "How could you do that?"

"I can't believe I ever loved you!"

"Well, looks like we have a slight problem here," To his surprise, it was Chaos, or at least how Chaos had been described to him, he never actually having seen the demon before. It beat its wings nonchalantly before coming closer, Lucrecia and Hojo both stopping their insults and the like to comment on Chaos' 'perfection' and what a success the implantation of the demons had been with Vincent. "They're right, my dear Vincent. Why not give up now?"

"Don't call me that," Vincent hissed. 

"Monster!" Lucrecia suddenly shrieked, startling him. Her finger was pointing at him. Not Chaos, him. 

The dream slowly faded away, but the piercing ring of her voice didn't. Even as he opened his eyes and looked around Tifa's house's spare bedroom, he could still hear the anger, the loathing in her voice.

_It was all a dream. It was all a dream…_

"Gods…" Vincent muttered before shutting his eyes, blinking away the tears that threatened to escape from his closed lids.

Hmm, angsty Vincent. I just got my computer back, so I'm very happy and updates will be more frequent now. I hated the last chapter's length too, so hopefully this one is a bit more satisfying :| Anyway, enjoy!


	12. Blood Spilt Tonight

She wasn't there. He ran back to the chocobo farm, scouring the area. There was nothing. 

Wait. What was that smell?

Blood. Then he saw it.

A flock of chocobos, all dead. He frowned, examining the bodies, before going over to where he had killed the monster.  

A pool of blood. That was right. What wasn't right, however, was the upturned dirt near the pool of blood. He looked closer at the ground. 

There had been a struggle here.

He immediately reconstructed the events.

There had been a person. They had struggled in the creature's grasp. Then what had happened…?

Tifa… no…

"I am going to kill this creature," Cloud Strife swore to the clouds and the moon above him. "Whatever it is, for hurting Tifa it will pay with its life,"    

*~*

I am pouring myself a cup of tea to keep myself awake with only five hours sleep when the door bangs open, and a troubled looking Cloud comes in. Once he sees me, however, he rushes over and wraps me into a hug so tight I can hardly breathe.

"Oh, Tifa, Tifa," he whispers into my ear, stroking my cheek the way you would stroke a beloved pet. "I thought you were dead,"

Even knowing he is meaning well, I flinch. His tight grip is aggravating the wounds on my arms, his close contact stirring the cuts on my legs. "Cloud, I love the attention, but you're hurting me," 

He pulls away immediately, concern shining in his mako-blue eyes, then anger as he sees the wounds on my bare arms. Before I can think of anything else to say to him about the wounds and where they came from, my mouth has already opened and telling him something. A totally useless 'something', I might add.

"Nothing serious, I just scratched myself cleaning,"

_Geez__, Tifa, go for the lame lying award, I think bitterly to myself. _Nobody would fall for that. No-one at all.__

"Rubbish, Tifa. Did you get attacked by that monster in the meadow?" he asks; a faint hint of urgency in his voice. Again, my mouth opens before I can think of a suitable reply.

"No, don't be ridiculous! I told you what happened. Don't bother me so much, Cloud. I'm not a child. I can look after myself," 

I pull away from him before he can say anything else, and storm upstairs. It was about time I checked up on Vincent, anyway.

I could have sworn that I heard him say something as I went upstairs, but I wouldn't have a clue as to what it was. 

*~*

She was lying to him. He didn't understand why.

_Why would you protect the monster that attacks you? _He thought distantly to himself, rubbing his head.

He watched her storm upstairs. He hadn't meant to hurt her. 

"Tifa, if you're helping a monster, then don't expect me to side with you," he said softly as she left the room. 

_I'll do my job. My job is monster hunting. I want to keep my job. I hunt the monster until it dies. Easy. _

_Although it should have died before, but to be certain, I'll go out again tonight. Just to make sure._

_One family is one too many. That monster is going to pay with its life._

*~*

Usually he was good with coping with emotional pain. Not this time. Chaos' laugh echoed in his head as he tried desperately to stem the tears. It wasn't that there were a lot of them. 

It hurt so much to cry. He hated it. Crying was human, which meant he couldn't do it. He wasn't _allowed by his own damned morals. Damned in both senses of the word. _

_*Damn right, Valentine,* _Chaos snickered. _*No pun intended,* the demon added with an evil chuckle._

Suddenly, he heard footsteps echo up the landing and realised with a start that somebody, probably Tifa, was coming. He tried to regain his composure. It would do nothing for either of them to have him break down in a broken mess.

Although that was what he really wanted to do.

A brunette head slowly peered around the door, and seeing that he was awake, started.

"Look, Vincent, I-I'm sorry, I thought you would be asleep, I didn't mean to disturb you… I just brought you some tea…" she came in and hastily put the mug of tea on the bedside table carelessly enough for a little to spill down the sides of the cup. Her claret eyes shone with apology. "I'll go now… here's your tea…"

"Thank-you," he said softly to the door closing behind him, turning to look at the mug and the small puddle of tea around the base of it, sensing a familiar feeling of depression come over him. _She's so scared of me that she hurried to get away from me… _do people really see me as that intimidating? _Of course, it was a rhetorical question, because he already knew the answer. _

_"You deserved everything I gave you…"_

_"You don't call yourself a monster…"_

_"I can't believe I ever loved you…"_

"Can't I just get away from this?" Vincent whispered to the ceiling desperately. 

He drank the tea, before leaving quietly, fully clothed, of course, clothes washed courtesy of Tifa again. Before leaving, however, he did leave a note on the bedside table. He wasn't that ungrateful, as opposed to what people thought. He had to go. 

As confirmation, Chaos roared in his head, the sound reverberating in his skull. He knew what Chaos' roar meant.

There was going to be blood spilt tonight…

Kurmoi. (Long story…) Anyway, hope you enjoy. :)


	13. The mask of chaos

_*You didn't possibly think that you could get away with that pathetic idea, did you?* _Chaos snickered. He had been forced to trek down to near Midgar and transform, hopefully endangering less life, animal or otherwise. Chaos, however, didn't like that idea, and simply flew over to the chocobo farm. _*I like my chocobo blood. And I've noticed that you do, too,*_

However much Vincent wanted to argue, he couldn't, not and win. There had been times when he had lost control, and Chaos had been right. The sudden craving for the kill was there. But not now. He was trying not to let nausea overtake him, currently, however much Chaos was dominant at the moment. He still felt sick.

_You don't suppose that Cloud will be there again? Did you think of that? And more importantly, the wounds you'll leave _me _with after he beats you senseless again? _Vincent 'thought-asked' the demon, exasperated. Chaos merely flapped its wings harder, before coming to rest outside the chocobo farm. It was dusk, but still, the place was basically deserted, give or take a few stray chocobos walking around. Suddenly, Vincent noticed something out of Chaos' eyes. 

_Cloud's over there. Look._

To his distant surprise, Chaos did, and noticed the spiky haired blonde. Once Cloud noticed them, on the other hand, he grabbed his sword and raced over. Chaos braced itself for a fight.

"You are going to die today, monster," Cloud hissed. Chaos merely snickered, a sound which would have sent Vincent running, if he could, of course. Then to his horror, the demon spoke. He didn't even know that it could physically do such a thing.

"No inconvenience to me. More Vincent then I," the demon stated calmly. Vincent grew panicked as Cloud's sapphire eyes grew wide, mirroring his surprise and shock.

"Vincent? He… all this time? Killing people?"

The blonde's expression hardened. 

"It doesn't matter who it is, demon… Chaos, Vincent, whoever the hell you are. You've been killing people. You are going to die here and now,"

_This can't be happening… _Vincent thought to himself. Cloud suddenly smirked, pulling out something. Chaos stopped, obviously not knowing what it was any more then Vincent did.

"Tranquilizer," Cloud threw the needle which hit Chaos on the shoulder. It bellowed in anger, but couldn't hold the transformation. As everything faded slowly to black, one thought was running through Vincent's head.

_Great. This is absolutely wonderful._

I never believed that it would happen, but it is. Vincent and I, walking along, hand in hand. He is wearing something different to what I have seen him in as of late, albeit as monochromatic as the last outfit. A black shirt, untucked, over some black pants, with a vibrant crimson tie which accentuates his eyes. He looks absolutely stunning. He turns, a faint ghost of a smile on his lips, and reaches out a hand to me. I reach my own out to touch his, when suddenly, his hand starts transforming, mutating. Claws and all. Unlike the usual transformations, he is passive, in no pain as the wings rip through his back. It is Chaos.

Before I can say anything, I hear something shoot through the air. It sounds like a shuriken, but it isn't. In fact, it is the Ultima Weapon. Cloud's sword.

It hits Chaos in the back. The demon roars in agony, before spinning around and lashing out at Cloud viciously. Somehow, Chaos misses every time. Cloud swings one last time, with another Ultima Weapon he has pulled from somewhere and the demon collapses, dead. Cloud's maniacal laugh echoes in my head.

"Don't cry, Tifa. It's all a monster deserves, after all. Meet me at the chocobo farm. You might make it. If you're lucky,"

In the distance, a monster howls in pain, agony. Cloud didn't. He couldn't…

As I slowly awaken, shaking, I don't understand. How could I make it if Chaos was already dead? It simply doesn't make any sense. Then my thoughts go back to earlier. When I left the tea in his room and fled. No way was I standing around there to make small talk. He had seemed almost hurt by my reaction, which surprised me. After all, wasn't that what he wanted me to act like around him? He could have fooled me if he wasn't. Yes, I was bitter. I didn't understand the dream, either, which just infuriates me more. 

_"Meet me at the chocobo farm. You might make it. If you're lucky,"_

Then suddenly, a thought hits me like a blow. A hard blow.

_It was all a nightmare, but it might actually be about to happen…_

No way. Since when do premonitions happen?

_Tifa, just go. You've already nearly gotten him killed once. If he isn't there, you can go back to bed. If he is, then that leaves a lot more questions to answer._

But it's late, and I'm tired…

_Yeah. You're tired. Vincent could be dead._

Vincent's tough, probably a lot tougher then me. He can look after himself.

_Not if he's Chaos. And you've already seen that Cloud can look after Chaos quite nicely._

Cloud wouldn't do that. He and Vincent were friends… acquaintances… or something… weren't they?

_People have died. Cloud fights for justice now. Cloud hates monsters, he kills them. Who knows what he'll do?_

But not Vincent. Vincent's not a monster.

_Yeah. He just turns into freakish creature things for his health. Smart going, Tifa._

Cloud wouldn't kill Vincent. Not the Cloud I know.

_Maybe you don't know him as well as you thought…_

Pulling on something over my pyjamas, I step into some shoes and sprint to the chocobo farm. I missed him once. I won't do it again.

Two chapters! One was too short, so two will have to do. Enjoy, as always! 


	14. Morality wins all

"How did you know I would be here?" Cloud demands as I slow, breathing heavily from the fast sprinting that I have just done, but still grasping his arm so he can't swing his sword. Just the pure anger in his voice is astounding. It makes me think that I never really knew him. 

"I… I had a premonition, dream, whatever you want to call it. I knew something was wrong. Let him go,"

Vincent had already transformed back, picking a horrible time for all three of us. I suppose it isn't his fault that Cloud stuck a tranquiliser into him, admittedly. He is sitting, but not actually sitting up. Even worse, however, he somehow remains conscious, alert, yet helpless to physically retaliate as Cloud and I argue about his fate. Life or death. 

"Never mind that. Vincent, you've killed too many now. Animals you could have gotten away with for a time. But too many humans have died, Vincent. A family. An entire family. None of them deserved to die. I'm the monster hunter for this area. I can't let it continue. Too many innocent lives are being lost,"

"Gods, Cloud!" I exclaim angrily. "Who are you to preach about innocent lives, when as AVALANCHE in the beginning we took more lives then Chaos ever could? If you're perfect, absolutely flawless, then that gives you the right to thrust that sword through him. If not, then you can't. You have no right,"

"I may not be perfect, but at least I'm not a monster," he says softly, purposefully not meeting anybody's gaze. My own eyes widen. Never would I have suspected Cloud to say anything of the sort. I had thought he and Vincent were… acquaintances, he said, that day when he woke up. I suppose this incident proves how wrong I was. I glance down at Vincent. Yes, he is still alert. He could speak, but I don't think he wants to. The expression in his eyes is all too clear as to how he is feeling. Too many people I have seen that expression of sheer helplessness, defeat on. 

Then the realisation hits me like a blow. I have to make a choice. A choice between the only two men I have ever loved this way before. Vincent and his beliefs, or Cloud and his. I helped Cloud overcome his past and the confusions surrounding it. I helped him overcome Sephiroth's trickery. We stayed together, that one evening before the battle at the Northern Crater. It seems so long ago. If anybody had asked me a week ago whether Cloud was the one for me, I would have said yes. But now… 

Vincent lowers his eyes to the ground. Cloud puts the sword to his neck. "You know that this would have happened eventually, Vincent. It had to happen,"

What do I believe? I don't believe Vincent is a monster. I believe he is a human sometimes forced into something out of his control by a deranged scientist, who also had a part in Cloud's history. Gods, I thought that Cloud would have been more sympathetic. He was, is no angel, after all. I believe that Cloud's view on this is wrong. I believe now, no, I know. After this… this incident has proved that Cloud never was the one for me. Aeris could have been, they really did care for each other. Not that I didn't care about him, but Aeris was a better person then I will ever be. Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps Vincent really does deserve to die. But I don't believe it, and my beliefs are what have gotten me so far. I won't let them let me down, ever. And I won't let them down.

"Stop!" My voice comes loudly into the silence of the early night. "Don't do it!"

To my surprise, Cloud does stop, turning towards me.

"What is this, Tifa? You had no compassion towards the creatures we fought anywhere else all those years ago. What's the difference now?"

Glancing down at Vincent, I can see that to my horror, the icy wall he usually has around him has cracked. The word 'monster' and 'creature' are probably biting at him. Sure enough, Cloud mutters something that has both words in it, and he visibly flinches. Never have I seen him show so much emotion.

Tears are burning at my eyes. I try unsuccessfully to stem them, giving up and letting them flow, although for what seems like eternity they stay, simply clouding my vision. "You're not the Cloud I thought I knew and loved. What happened to him? This Cloud is just a sadistic, ruthless killer. Cloud, I won't say it anymore. You have no right. Let him go, and let this all be over,"

"Too many people have died, Tifa!" The anger flares up in his eyes again. "Just when everybody thought the Planet was safe again! For the sake of humankind, Tifa!"

"For the sake of humankind," Tears are flowing freely now, I can feel them running down my cheeks. I know my voice is mocking. "If Aeris hadn't made her sacrifice, then we wouldn't be here now. Yet if you had done what you were going to do, then she wouldn't have been able to make her sacrifice. She would have been dead before any of us knew what was going on in the first place,"

Cloud turns to Vincent, before turning back to me. "Why are you defending him so much? Is it true? The time that you two have spent together has developed into something more? Is that, Tifa? I'm not good enough for you, anymore?" His emotional shields are diminishing, just like Vincent's, and good Odin, like mine, too. I see traces of hurt in those mako-blue eyes. "After all we've been through, and yet you leave me here now, just because of a week-long crush? Is that it?"

"No, damn it! It isn't because of that!" Now is the time to put it to him, put the ball in his court, where he can hit it to whomever he wishes. "Cloud, if you can even think about killing someone who we all thought was your… close acquaintance, if not friend, then you're not the right person for me. A friend is a friend for life. Not until you decide that their flaws are too much for you to handle. I'll always care for you no matter what you do, Cloud. But if you ram that sword through him then I can guarantee that you won't see me again, regardless of whether I care for you or not. This isn't right, Cloud," My last words have dropped into a whisper, but then my voice rises again. "If you want me to be brutally honest, it's more my morals then anything else. Certainly not a 'week-long crush' as you call it,"  

"I go back to the question I asked you before," Cloud stands up straighter, withdrawing his sword from Vincent's neck, for now. "You had no compassion towards the creatures we fought anywhere else all those years ago. What's the difference now?"

"Creatures have no ounce of forgiveness in them. Creatures kill and don't realise what they are doing, or they just don't care," My words are soft. "Exactly the way you're acting now, Cloud,"

He says nothing, just stares blankly at me for a moment. The tears are flowing faster then ever before as I realise just what sort of injury I have put into our friendship, relationship, whatever we had, it isn't now. Why? Just for Vincent, who I've never really _known throughout the time I've known him? I do this to Cloud, who's been my friend since we were children? Is that right? No. I do this for me. Whether it was someone we knew, or someone we didn't, forgiveness is the key. And everybody knows that Vincent does regret his actions, after all. I don't know what it is, but it's a second chance. Perhaps my morals are wrong, but regardless I'm going to stick by them all the way._

Cloud looks at me. Really looks at me. And I don't think he likes what he sees. He runs off back to Kalm, leaving Vincent and I back near the chocobo farm.

"Goodbye, Cloud Strife," I whisper softly into the wind, knowing that he will never hear me.

The incident has just come to a big head, I guess you could say… sorry any C/T fans, but hey, no matter. Enjoy, as always.


	15. Just another sin

_Why did she do it? Just to save… a monster…? _He still couldn't comprehend it. He had known, however, that Cloud had never liked his transformations, but this was the first time he had actively verbalised it. _Or is there some other reason that she said what she did that I don't understand? She is the one that doesn't understand… I did deserve to die. Humans… I thought, no, I swore that I would never take another human life unless necessary, so much for that…_

_*Ah, dear Vincent. There's no better time to take life then now. Can't you imagine that young woman? So beautiful, yet she would be even more beautiful in death… those claret eyes wide open with fear, blood running down her face, her dishevelled hair matted with crimson blood… that pretty body covered in cuts, lacerations and most importantly… blood… beautiful crimson blood…*_

"No. I won't let it happen," he whispered to himself, the words being caught by the wind. Unfortunately, Tifa heard. 

"Won't let what happen?" she asked. He remained silent, not trusting his voice to remain steady or his mouth itself to say what it wanted to. After a few moments, she gave a short sniff. He looked up at the brunette. She was crying, tears running down her pale cheeks. "Cloud. And I had just thought that I was beginning to know you again. What happened? Why did we have to end this way?"

This was just another sin to add to the ever-growing list. Those from so long ago. Killing more humans, taking more life. Destroying one woman's happiness with the betrayal, or perhaps just disagreement in morality and unrighteousness about a monster. A monster that didn't deserve to live after the pain he had caused. All his life he had caused everybody around him pain. Cloud was right, no matter how hard it was agreeing, how it surfaced emotions which had been previously buried.

_*Nothing like being self-centred, is there?* _Chaos cut in._ The raven-haired man ducked his head, unwilling or perhaps simply unable to comprehend the extensities of his actions. He could feel that the tranquilizer's effects had begun to wear off. He shifted onto his knees before getting slowly to his feet, and managed to stay upright.   _

_Tifa… even the monster that I am, I don't want to see you hurt, I- _the dark man's thoughts broke off as he suddenly realised something. Chaos seemed to realise it as well. _*How far would you go to see her not hurt, Vincent?* _the beast asked coolly. Vincent knew that if the demon was currently a physical entity that he was holding conversation with, he would be smirking. 

_Simply to make sure that no harm comes to her, nothing more… _  

He remembered his harsh words to her. _I cannot love you. _He remembered her stricken eyes, her rushed apology, her instant mask. He hadn't believed it at the time, simply thinking that she was being foolish. 

He also remembered when she looked after him when he fell ill, even after his protests, she still looked after him; let him into her home after he had managed to get imprudently inebriated. He remembered her happy smile as his health improved; he remembered everything, even though he didn't want to.

Lucrecia… Tifa… he could see so many similarities, yet so many differences. Tifa was a fighter. Lucrecia was, to some extent at least. He had already failed Lucrecia. Perhaps Tifa could almost be redemption? No… it was foolish to even consider the thought. He couldn't just use another person for his own atonement. That was wrong. He was wrong. Everything was wrong.

He could never put into words how sorry he was that because of him, her relationship had ended in such a disaster. He knew himself well enough to say that he could never actually summon the courage, or perhaps cowardice to speak those words. 

She was a beautiful person, now that he thought about it. He had thought that distantly when he was sick, and still agreed with it. If he wasn't the person he was, he probably would have let himself get closer, maybe even to a romantic level, if what she had said was true. But he wasn't anybody else, and he just couldn't do it.

But… she would always touch him. Same with Lucrecia, really. They would both hold a place in his heart… if they could find it under the death and bloodshed, of course. 

_*What happened to Lucrecia? Giving her the flick for Tifa? So much for always loving her…* _Chaos interrupted, letting his statement trail off suggestively. Vincent flinched, all his control going out the window once more. What about Lucrecia? The one who he had kept on living for all this time… just being flicked away in an instant?

At this moment in time, Vincent Valentine was feeling an emotion he would rather have not experienced, and as opposed to the usual depressed feeling, he was feeling something else. Confusion.

"Vincent, are you alright?" Tifa's voice was soft, gentle. He turned to her, and with a slight incline of his head nodded, the cool exterior making its face shown once again. _I must go, now. There's no point in staying here. There's no way that I can. She asked him some more questions, which he simply ignored, before turning to go back to Kalm. __Buy a few supplies and I will be on my way, away from this nightmare of a town for good. I can't stay here. There's no turning back now._

Turning on his heel, he left to walk back, leaving a stunned Tifa behind.

Hmm… an interesting _turn of events, shall we say? _

I know it was a lame pun. I'm sorry.

Really. 


	16. Have a nice life

Because you've been so patient with my computer problems, you get two chapters! Yay! That and this one is pretty darn short. Anyway, hope you enjoy as always and I apologise profusely for the delay, but my wonderful laptop (grr) has now proceeded to break FIVE times in less then a year! (Two hard drive crashes) what a great laptop! ^^; Anyway, hopefully updates will be more frequent again. Thanks for being so patient!

He was walking out of the town of Kalm when he felt an ominous hand on his shoulder. Grasping his gun, he spun; trigger half pulled, to stare into mako-blue eyes glaring fiercely at him. 

"Vincent. Haven't you done enough already?" the blonde man asked, raising a fine eyebrow. Vincent shrugged the hand off his shoulder, lowering his gun. "What do you think about yesterday evening? Do you think I was right? That Tifa was a fool to save your ass?"

Vincent simply responded to this statement with his usual cool stare, which seemed to slightly perturb Cloud after a period of time. Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Cloud grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside of the town establishment and towards the Midgar area, before un-holstering his sword. 

"You made me lose my future wife. I'm not going to let that go lightly, because I love her. So, we dual. Fight me like a man. Or isn't there enough left in you to do that?" 

It was obvious that the blonde swordsman was doing his best to anger him. It wasn't working. _It was probably because Cloud is right, _Vincent thought with a slight frown. He refused to lift his gun, instead keeping it pointed at the ground. Cloud lifted his sword. "So, what are doing? Because it won't be much of a fight for me if I can kill you first blow,"

"Go ahead. Only fools need to resort to duals," Vincent said softly. "Not that I need to justify my every move to you, but I was leaving Kalm because of the incident previously, to leave you and Tifa in peace. Either way, whether you kill me now or I leave, you will not have to see me again, nor I you," _Thank the gods for that, _he added mentally. "Put simply, I am not going to fight you here and now. The decision is entirely yours,"

Cloud lowered his sword slowly. "Alright, fine. If you want to hang on to that pathetic existence you call life, then I won't stop you. It's obviously what Tifa wants. And there's no point in a fight where nothing happens. Be grateful I don't just kill you here and now," 

Vincent resisted the urge to laugh out loud. If anything, Cloud probably would have ended up giving him bad and encumbering injuries, but not killing him. He had Chaos to thank for that.

__

*Why not dual? It could have been good,* Chaos' voice boomed inside his head. _*Kill the aggravating blonde.*_

Killing isn't the answer to everything. Sometimes it just creates more questions.

"You leave, go back to Nibelheim or wherever you go, and do not come back to Kalm. Got it? And you leave Tifa alone. Don't tell her that you're leaving. Deal?"

"Fine," Vincent said in his usual impassive tone. As long as he didn't have to fight, he didn't mind. What was not coming back to a town he wasn't planning on returning to when it could be more blood on his hands?

"What are you waiting for?" Cloud asked angrily. Vincent looked down into the glaring mako-blue eyes. 

"Have a nice life, Cloud," Vincent said simply before walking away.


	17. This is for you, Tifa

The coffin was just as horrible as he remembered it. Chaos snickered in the back of his mind.

__

*Entering eternal sleep mode again, Vincent?*

All Vincent did was nod. _It's better for everybody if I lock myself away like this. Especially Tifa. That way, she doesn't have to put up with a monster overshadowing her every move. And in a way, it's better for me as well. I don't want to mar people with my presence any longer._

He glanced down at the coffin. It didn't seem very inviting.

__

Do I really want to do this? Isn't there another way, other then being a coward and pretending that if I shut my eyes, all my problems will disappear? 

Vincent Valentine had a rather large dilemma now. Staying was out of the question, yet running away was also not a possibility. But what else could he do? 

__

*Why don't you just kill yourself,* Chaos intervened lazily. _*Then _I_ don't have to put up with you and your constant angst act,*_

I'm not running any more. Vincent was adamant on this. He sighed softly, before leaving the coffin room and turning, walking down the corridor to a door. Pushing open the door softly, he looked around the unused library with mixed emotions. He could remember this room all too well. For him, it was more then a library.

Memories of Lucrecia went through his head, holding hands with her as they walked through Nibelheim together. He wanted to keep the good memories and simply forget about the other ones, but the other ones (namely the bad ones) kept resurfacing just as he thought that they were finally buried. No thanks to a certain _something._

*The past is all you have, Vincent. There's no point in forgetting it, because then you will have nothing,*

As much as he hated to agree with Chaos, he reluctantly did in this matter. _The past is all I have, because I have to spend eternity atoning for my sins in the past. Chaos is right. _

His thoughts turned to Tifa again. She had been there, she had seen Lucrecia. Unlike Cloud, she hadn't offered an opinion. Tifa, she had been nice to him throughout the time they had known each other. And what for? He certainly hadn't been towards her. He never was. 

__

I… I-think-I-love-you…

Why did she? He would never know. It wasn't as though he deserved it. Monsters didn't deserve to be loved by anybody.

Although… even if they didn't deserve it, it still seemingly happened from time to time… 

Now his own words in response to hers were beginning to haunt him. It was true that he couldn't love her, but after everything she had done, he could have at least let her down a bit more gently. So much for atoning…

He walked over to the table where so many years ago, Hojo had tied him down and made him into the monster he was, or at least a physical manifestation of. _So much blood was spilt, hearts were broken, people hurt during the JENOVA project, but for what? All for the sake of science? Or something else? I have never understood… and now that Hojo is dead, I never will… in a way, Sephiroth's life both began and was ended by Hojo… the experiments took away from what could have been. They destroyed it._

Memories. Confronting Hojo for what would be the last time as he was back then. The piercing pain of the bullet entering his body. The dizzy feeling of losing consciousness…

The blind terror when he had heard a voice inside his head, a voice that wasn't his… the agony of losing control and being forced to watch out of a demon's eyes…

But then again… wasn't he used to that? After all…

The bittersweet pleasure he had felt when Hojo was finally dead… it was hard, but then again, oh so easy. His hand strayed absentmindedly to his gun, before withdrawing.

__

Vincent, are you alright?

Something was there. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. Something he didn't understand, but it was about her. Tifa…

Was it…?

No, it couldn't be. Lucrecia was the only person that he had loved…

__

Yeah… a voice in the back of his mind sniggered, except he knew that it was only his consciousness as opposed to anything else. _And look where that got you._

Could he still love? He didn't know. But, even still…

He turned to leave the room, walking slowly back to the coffin room. Now the question was lingering in his mind.

__

To coffin… or not to coffin?

*I never thought I'd see the day. Vincent Valentine gets a sense of humour,* Chaos muttered dryly. But Vincent was being deadly serious.

__

This is pathetic. I miss her… against his wishes, the smiling brunette known as Tifa kept on coming into his mind. However, the scream of hers in his 'dream' helped him make up his mind.

"Tifa, everybody… this is for you," Vincent smiled dryly before pulling the coffin lid over himself with a finalising thud.

Ya… angsty Vincent in coffin chapter. You know how long I've been waiting to say that?! 

*cough* Anyway… enjoy and review if you're feeling nice ^^


	18. I love you, Cloud

Thanks for bearing with my slack updates and all! But now, everything should run smoothly until the finale! We're nearly finished! *Sniff* but it was fun every step of the way! 

"Obviously we never were meant to be after all," My eyes were sore from crying, but Cloud and I were having a 'calm and mature' discussion. He was being calm, but not always mature. I was being mature, but probably not what you would consider calm. Together we made a good couple.

__

No! Don't even think about that! It hurts too much… 

"Even still, I don't want to lose you, Tifa. I don't want to lose you just because-" he broke off abruptly, but the unspoken words were hanging in the air. _I don't want to lose you just because Vincent showed up and ruined everything. _I'm not going to retaliate against what he said. I think I've already said enough. He is right, in that respect. But then again, if I had never encountered him again, I suppose I never would have truly found out what sort of a person Cloud truly was. I would have been deluded with a beautiful fantasy. And as much as fantasy is nice, it isn't always realistic, or indeed possible.

"Cloud. I thought this a while ago, and I think it is true after all. Aeris would have made a much better partner for you then me. I guess we never were meant to be, but we'll still be friends, right?"

He nods slowly, and then gasps as I lunge at him, squeezing him around the middle. "Good. I didn't want to lose you before; it's just that I suppose we didn't agree. It had to happen,"

"I don't understand how you feel… the way you do, but if that's what you want then I'm willing to accept it," he says softly, stroking my cheek. I feel the tears begin to flow again. I don't love him the way I did, not now. But more a love of brother-sister. "In some ways, I do agree with you about Aeris. At the beginning I was afraid it would end up into a big love triangle type of thing and result in you two hating each other. I'm glad it didn't, because you two are two of the people I've ever been closest to in my life. I would be a different person altogether if I had never met you and Aeris,"

We pause for a moment, thinking of the bubbly flower girl who sacrificed herself for the sake of the Planet. If she hadn't, then we wouldn't be here now… but because she did, she wasn't here now. She would know what to do with this sort of situation. She would lean forward slightly, beaming, and say something like "Kiss and make up!" and then come out with something more serious which would make everyone realise what they had to do. I sigh softly and Cloud snaps out of his reverie. 

"Tifa. It's been a while… I've decided that I'm going to go to the Ancient Forest for a while, just to pay my respects to Aeris," he says softly. I nod slowly.

"She would like that, I think," 

Cloud nods, and turns to the Lunar Harp, which is standing as an ornament on our dresser, cleaned and polished. "I don't know how long I'll be, or when we'll see each other again, Tifa. But… I know we will see each other sometime again. You deserve the best, Tifa. Be careful,"

"I love you, Cloud," I whisper into his shoulder. "You be careful too,"

"Always. Soul-searching is beneficial in the long run, Tifa. Maybe you should try it too sometime? You could come with me?" he asks questioningly. It is tempting, but I can't. 

"I would like to, but I think that going to see Aeris is something for you alone to do. It would spoil it if I came,"

Although I was partially expecting an argument, I got none. Just a light peck to the cheek, before he took up the Lunar Harp and was gone before I could say anything else. But his words were still in my head. _"Soul-searching is beneficial in the long run." _ Perhaps, considering that there was nothing else to do in Kalm except run my bar, I could. Go back and relive memories, the only links left of my past. And anybody who knew me would know where that meant going. Yes, Nibelheim.

Suddenly, my thoughts went back to Vincent. Popping my head out of the door, I could see Cloud's departing back. "Hey, Cloud!" I yell across the township. "Do you know where Vincent went?"

I know I am stepping onto dangerous territory, but I don't care. Cloud luckily doesn't react angrily, he simply shrugs, although avoids making eye contact.

"He said that he was going away from you," he says softly before continuing to walk out of the town. I am stunned. I step back into the house. Does he really hate me that much? After all I did to help him…

But then again… he might have said it because he didn't want to get anyone hurt, me included…

The first option seemed more Vincent. He would always be like that, the silent enigma that stepped in and out of people's lives like a heartbeat. What made me think that we could ever live a happy life together? Vincent was just about as likely to thrive in domestic bliss as I was to begin fighting with a katana. It _wasn't _going to happen. 

But anything was possible, right? Either way, Cloud or no Cloud, Vincent or no Vincent, I was going to go back to Nibelheim. I could go back to my house there. Everything would be fine, albeit a bit lonely…

__

Old habits die hard, I suppose.


	19. Love evokes chaos

Nibelheim is just as quiet as I remember it, well, nearly. There seems to be more people making friendly conversation, but still there is that air of silence which I think the town will always have, no matter what. It always has been that way. 

Entering the town, I can see the formidable shadow of the mansion towards the back end of the town. I have never liked that mansion. Even when they went in there to look for Sephiroth (or so they said, I heard they found him in the library) I refused to go. I always remember that mansion, and I have never liked it. I can't explain how much I hate it.

Come to think of it, didn't they do something else in the mansion? I can't remember. My thoughts drift back to Aeris. _Soon, Aeris, Cloud will be there and you can be reunited, at least for a while…_

…Aeris… that was it! 

"Who ever would have guessed? Yuffie bounces up, opens this coffin, and there's a guy in there! A pretty cute one, too. What luck! I bet Cloud was annoyed it wasn't some girl,"

Vincent was found in the Nibelheim mansion! That was the other thing that happened in there! Of course, when I think about it, it all starts to piece together the puzzle. Maybe that was where he had gone, back to the mansion. Not that anyone in their right mind would want to go _back _to that mansion, but… you never know. There was no harm in looking, was there? Dumping my gear into my house (seems rather fitting, doesn't it?) I run to the mansion, pushing open the gate and walking inside. 

Just the air of suspense inside the mansion gives me the chills. To my left, I see a loose piece of paper on the ground. As always, curiosity overtakes me and I read it. 

"What?" I exclaim in disgust. "Hojo, you're one sick-" I stop before I take a leaf out of Cid's book and angrily tear the note up, letting the pieces flutter half-heartedly to the ground. "The basement…" I muse aloud. "How would I get there?" There are many doors, as I step back into the centre of the room and look around. One to my left and one to my right, then a staircase leading to a higher level with one left, one right. I go up the staircase and go left, after choosing randomly which door to go through. In a room above me there is a safe, and then I remember something else which Aeris told me.

__

"We had to get a key out of the safe, then we went right, and there was a door hidden in a stone wall. Shinra must've been really cautious about the security of that project…"

So, the key would already be in the lock, hopefully. _Besides_, I think to myself, _he can't exactly lock himself into the room again when the key's on the outside, right? _I go out of the left room and follow the path to the right. Sure enough, against the far wall in the next room, I see a stone wall. I push on it, but nothing happens. Looking more closely, I see a slight indent in one of the stones. I push on that, and the door opens, revealing a winding pathway down to the basement.

Once leaving the winding pathway, I look down the corridor. To my surprise, there is a door to the north, almost obscured by shadows. I go down cautiously and notice that there is a small key in the lock. _This must be the coffin room that Aeris was talking about! _I push open the door softly, half expecting to see Vincent staring at me like he did when I brought him the cup of tea the other day, but he isn't. There are coffins scattered around the room, but that isn't all. Making a slight face at the skulls that are glaring up at me, I look at each of the coffins, which one would it be?

Suddenly, the middle one seems to stand out. It looks slightly different, I don't know. Something about it. Hesitating for only a split second, I then grasp onto the coffin lid and gently pull it off, before I gasp.

Here he is. But unlike before, as both Yuffie and Aeris mentioned how he immediately woke up when Cloud disturbed him, he is fast asleep. His hair is tousled from sleep, although obviously not from movement, and his ebony hair is spread out, gently fanned out like an angel's. His right arm is resting on his stomach, while the prosthetic claw is by his side. He looks so peaceful, even more so then when I saw him sleeping back at Kalm. Perhaps sleep is the only time that he can truly be at peace. Or perhaps not.

I don't have the heart to wake him. And for what, anyway? As I am about to leave, he suddenly sits bolt upright as though somebody electrocuted him, his crimson eyes looking at me intently.

"Tifa? What are you doing here?" 

As opposed to the usual monotone he uses, quiet and toneless, his entire voice sounds almost different, richer, and more expressive. 

"I could ask the same for you," I counter. He raises a fine eyebrow, before springing from a lying position to a keeling position with the blink of an eye, and then does an elegant flip backwards, landing on the edge of the coffin. Something I didn't notice before was that he is wearing clothes both different from when he was in AVALANCHE and when he was staying in Kalm. A long-sleeved black (now, why doesn't that surprise me?) turtleneck over black pants. Again, the cape isn't there, this time replaced with a long coat, but not leather this time. _He must have a thing for long black coats_. _I don't blame him. They look nice on him. I mean… they look nice. Arg._

"What do you think I am doing?" His voice is gentle, much nicer and friendlier, more... human. Which totally goes against everything I believe of him, but there isn't a better way to describe it. Although his tone is almost probing. "I was told to stay away from you, and that I am doing. Your presence makes it most difficult for me to continue doing such, however," 

That would explain his sudden departure. It would also explain… anger swells in me. _Cloud lied to me! _I shake my head, trying to clear the thoughts. I am an adult, not a child. There is no point getting worked up over something so foolish. Even still, the fact that Cloud lied to me makes me trust him less. Come to think of it, he was looking a little unsure when he said what he did back in Kalm.

"Well, that was news to me. He told me that you left to get away from me," 

"In a way, I did,"

Those words hit me like a blow. _You don't say that! Even if you hate me, do you have to be so brutally honest? _I can't stop the mixed, hurt emotions from appearing on my face, and he shakes his head.

"Not in the way that you are thinking. I… In a dream, I was told that I bear a curse. And I don't want to have that happen to you, Tifa," He was sounding slightly flustered, another extremely un-Vincent trait. "No matter what I do, the ones that I love always suffer. I came to Nibelheim to get away from hurting anybody anymore,"

"You're running away," My own voice is wobbly, which is hopefully a un-Tifa trait, although I'm not sure as of late. "Just closing your eyes won't make it all go away. You should know that by now,"

Now I have to say that I could never win an argument with my father when he was alive. I had originally put it down to the generation, but considering that Vincent is technically around the same age, he must have lost the 'argument skills' that so many people in that era possessed, or maybe he just cannot summon up the energy to argue. Either way, he doesn't, simply agreeing with me all the way.

"I know. That was the only reason I thought that doing this would not be the right thing," He waved his right hand at the coffin. 

And another thing I have to mention, my father was a great person, but I can guarantee he wouldn't look this handsome at this age. Even though the atmosphere is so serious, I put a hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. He looks sternly over at me, and that takes away any lightening of the atmosphere that there could have been. Perhaps he has retained some of his 'that-generation' skills after all.

"Tifa, please go. I do not want to hurt you,"

"Is that a threat?" I demand. He looks at me again, crimson eyes so serious, but deep in them I can see a faint glimmer of pain.

"No. It is simply the truth. They say that love evokes chaos. Yet the chaos is closer then you know…"


	20. Loneliness

VERY short chapter, I apologise. After this there are only THREE more chapters to go! *Sniff* It's so sad! Hmm… I wonder if I can clock up 100 reviews before the end of this fic? Anyways, I have to thank you all for reviewing and even reading this short little addition to the Vin/Tifa fanfic world. They make a nice couple, no? 

I walk out of the mansion quietly. Nobody is talking now, it is basically silent. I don't want to go back to my house. Not yet, anyway. It has too many memories of Cloud in it. I will later, but not just yet. I want to sit somewhere where I will be left alone, without memories of Cloud, preferably.

Finally the solution hits me. The inn. I book a room and sit on the bed, staring out of the window. 

Alone. Loneliness has always plagued me, ever since my mother's death. Although I had friends, I always felt alone. Perhaps it was just me being a fool, but those age-old pains seem to be coming back, and no prizes for guessing why.

I love Vincent. Don't know how, don't know why, but I do. Only problem is that he basically hates me. Although, admittedly, he has said more to me in the last week or so then the whole time he was in AVALANCHE, so I guess something has happened. Nothing extraordinary, though. I've probably just managed to annoy him further. 

Even when he was hurt or injured last year if we were fighting, he would keep on going without even bothering to heal himself. He wouldn't take anybody else's help; it had to be him doing his own thing. There is that age-old saying that 'There is no 'I' in team' but in this case there really was. He would do his own thing, and we would do ours. Yet, it still worked, even better with him on the scene as opposed to off. 

Everyone thought that I loved Cloud. I thought I loved Cloud, as well. Wouldn't they be surprised now? I still do love him, always will. But not in the same way that attracted me before. Something has changed and it has changed my perception of him as well.

Vincent… what can I say about him? I've seen the looks people give him sometimes. You would have to be blind not to. He probably isn't the type that you would take home to meet your parents, admittedly. Of course, that's okay for me, because mine are dead. I'm sure there is a heart under there somewhere. But once you're hurt, you're always wary. But there's just something about him. I want him in my life, because my life is so much more interesting with him in it. Putting age factors aside, I really wish that he could love me. Obviously, though, another thing that was never meant to be.

__

Am I meant to be lonely for the rest of my life? The thought scares me more then I can say. _I just want somebody… someone who understands me. Someone who knows what loneliness can do to someone…_

Wiping away tears from my eyes, I lie down on the bed and will myself to sleep.


	21. Red, red wine

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Short again… but they seem longer on the computer. ^^; Enjoy as always!

*Did you see her face when you said that? I honestly thought that she was going to slug you one, Valentine!* Chaos snickered.

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It's for the best. For her, and me as well. This way, I can't hurt her. One side of Vincent argued as he lay there, staring at the ceiling. The other disagreed.

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But maybe you are hurting her by avoiding her? She said that she loved you before, so this would just hurt her more!

This way she will be safe.

She doesn't want to be safe. She wants to be loved.

It is better that she is alive and not loved by a monster then otherwise!

But without love, there is nothing for her to live for. She might as well be dead. She wants your love, monster or not. She already implied that when she told you that she loved you. She wouldn't tell you if she didn't want your love back. Get a brain.

Vincent sighed. This argument wasn't going anywhere. He couldn't deny the feelings any longer. 

It had been what he had been both hoping and dreading when he was in the library. He didn't want her hurt. He wanted to care for her, even if he couldn't. He… loved her.

It would at least partially explain why he had been so emotional when he saw Tifa again. He had been acting like a depressed teenager, for crying out loud. _Why would Tifa say that she loved me? She had Cloud, didn't she? I thought they were happy together. But she told me that she loved me, she even stopped Cloud from killing me that other night, so I can hardly doubt her sincerity…_

*Which leaves one thing to doubt, my dear Vincent,* Chaos intervened. He nodded, not protesting against the somewhat derogatory way the demon had recently been using to address him.

__

Me.

"I've made a decision," Vincent announced out aloud to the skulls, skeletons and other coffins scattered across the room. "I'm going to tell Tifa the truth and then go,"

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*Over Lucrecia?* Chaos asked, almost sounding surprised.

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Never 'over' Lucrecia. Perhaps just moving on. I still carry the burden of my sin against her, Chaos. You know that as well as I. But I have eternity to spend atoning. It is better for me to make that less of a misery as much as I am able to myself. Tifa has made me see that.

*Never thought I'd hear you say that,* the demon muttered, before withdrawing. Vincent couldn't sense it anywhere. Although he was still wary, an unknown feeling began to spread through him, little by little, like the effects of spilling red wine on a white cloth. He nimbly jumped out of the coffin before running up the spiral pathway, down the grand staircase and out of the mansion, pushing the gate open.

__

Now, where would she be? He thought to himself. _Didn't she use to live here or something? _He shrugged, deciding that it would be easier to ask at the inn. If she lived in Nibelheim, they would know. He knew enough about the town to say that, at least.

The innkeeper gave him a startled look as he entered. He sighed softly. What with his somewhat unruly appearance, he wasn't the most inviting of people, looks and demeanor. He went up to the counter, efficiently hiding the golden claw under his coat. 

"Would you know a Miss Tifa Lockheart, sir?"

The innkeeper thought about it, before suddenly clicking his fingers.

"She just came in. Do you want to speak to her?" He nodded. "She's in the room closest to the door up the stairs. Can't miss it,"

"Thank-you, sir," he said softly, before walking up the stairs and pausing, taking a deep breath, before knocking tentatively on the wooden door.


	22. I love you, Tifa

This PE4C, also known as Pathetic Excuse 4 Chapter, isn't the end. I apologise for the stinking length on this one. THANKYOU very much reviewers for getting me over 100 reviews! I love you! And I bet Vincent does too ;)

Vincent: …No I don't.

Err… well, I guess he's softening up to Tifa, can't do two at once… oh well, till next time!

I start when there is a soft knock on the door. Probably the innkeeper or something. "No, thanks, I don't want any food," I call, loud enough for them to hear. There is silence for a moment, before another knock. "I told you-" I begin angrily, wrenching the door open, before blinking and stepping back. It isn't the innkeeper; it is Vincent, looking rather surprised.

"May I talk to you for a moment, Tifa?" he asks. His voice is so soft that I have to strain my ears to hear it. 

"Umm, of course. This inn doesn't have many seats, but there's a bed there…" I pause, realizing how bad my words sounded, before also realizing that Vincent wouldn't comment on the 'inner' meaning even if he had noticed. _Some good things about being that old. At least you have manners._

Not that I had really thought about Vincent's age much before. He looked twenty-seven, so that was what he was to all of us. Easy.

"I just wanted to tell you something," He sounds unsure, like a small child facing the dreaded principal. Very un-Vincent like. "You told me when I woke up that you loved me,"

"Yes, I know…" I'm confused. Is that what he wanted to tell me? "And then I told you not to worry about it. And you said that you weren't planning to,"

"I have to apologize to you, Tifa," he says, voice still almost inaudible. "I… I suppose I didn't know how to react by your statement, and I said the first thing that came to mind. You've made me think, Tifa,"

"Did it hurt?" I joke weakly, expecting him to shoot me a stern glare like he did the last time. Instead, his lips turn up in what would be a smile for him. 

"The realization did. I was wrong to say that I cannot love you, Tifa,"

His words stun me. _Vincent, admitting that he was wrong? That has to be a first. _"How so?" I ask, hoping that my heart isn't pounding as loudly as it seems to be, and that I am not blushing.

"Because… I do,"

"You…" 

I can't get anything else out, even if I had tried, because he has leaned over and gently kissed me on the lips. Not knowing what else to do, I kiss back. This feels so right, more so then when I have kissed anybody else ever before. He tastes beautiful, untainted, pure. And he still smells of roses. 

After what seems like a second he pulls away, looking rather apologetic. "Do forgive my candidness," 

"No, it's fine," I manage to stutter out. I can feel the blush now. I am blushing like a schoolgirl.

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Is it warm in here, or is it just me?


	23. Epilogue

Wow… this is the last chapter! (Err, still PE4C, but what can you do!) Thankyou to everyone who read this and stuck with it, and double-thankyou to those who read it and reviewed it. I had the best time writing this, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh yeah… Vincent rules! ^^

It was a reunion, mostly. Celebrating a year after Sephiroth's defeat, although more like a year and a bit because we were too lazy to organize anything to the exact. And Vincent and I were celebrating something else, but… I won't get into _that. _

Cait Sith is happily announcing how he has been over the year, well, Reeve is through him. Because I don't think that it is physically possible for a stuffed toy to do what Cait is saying. Yuffie is going around, trying to get materia off everybody. Red XIII is lying down in front of the fire, tail flicking slowly as he talks to Vincent. Shock horror disaster, Vincent is actually doing some of the talking. Barret and Cid are popping down the drinks, one after the other. Who else have I forgotten?

Cloud is walking over. I freeze, thinking he will try to do something reckless and hostile. But he doesn't. He smiles, before hugging me tightly around the waist. 

"Tifa. I'm so glad you're happy,"

"Even with a monster?" the words pop out of my mouth before I can stop them. He stops hugging me and looks at me, mako-blue eyes sad.

"I don't mind who you're happy with, now. Sometimes it makes me sad that it wasn't with me, but then I realize that Aeris would be the one for me. You told me that, didn't you? And we're still friends, so as long as that still happens, then I'll be happy for you,"

I smile, trying to stop the tears that threaten to spill from my eyes. "Cloud, I'll always love you. Don't forget that, okay?" 

He nods, and his own eyes are filling with emotion as he embraces me again, before letting go.

"But…" he says, just before he walks away. "Don't let those fangs of his bite you. Because I don't know how the Kalm people will take to that. Cover your neck well, Tifa,"

"Very funny, Cloud," I mutter, poking my tongue out at him in a rather Yuffie-like way.

Speaking of Yuffie, she bounces over as soon as Cloud goes. She does look a bit more mature, at least physically. Because she definitely doesn't sound it.

"Tifa! How are you? Got any materia for me?" she grins, but when I shake my head the smile fades. "No materia? Oh well, no matter. I'll just go ask… Vinny!" she bounces back off again. I laugh as I serve up the drinks to Barret and Cid, that both of them have emptied within ten seconds, anyway.

Vincent is standing over in the corner. As I go to get (more) drinks for Barret and Cid, I flash him a smile. He nods back, before returning it with a smile of his own. Not exactly what you would call a big smile, but he's smiling, so that's all that matters. 

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I managed to find the key. Now he can be happy.

*~*

He was happier then he had ever been before. He had been trying to not let this fact seem so obvious, but as Yuffie had so bluntly put it, _"You're saying more then three dots at a time, Vinny! Either you've had a… err… midlife crisis, or something good's gone on!"_

Something good had happened, after all. Even if he was a monster. Even if he hadn't deserved it, it had still happened.

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Perhaps there was more to life then met the eye, he thought distantly, staring wistfully out of the window. 

Tifa had indeed managed the seemingly impossible. She had unlocked Vincent Valentine's heart.


End file.
